In the railroad industry, it is known that there are occasions where the locomotive wheel flange contacts the rail, causing a frictional build-up of heat and wearing of both the wheel and the rail. Such undesired contact of the wheel flange and the rail occurs in several instances, such as in non-parallel or shifting rails, swiveling of the trucks which house and mount the wheels to the locomotive car, and during a curved track section when the wheel flange is in almost constant contact with the rail.
The amount of lost energy expended in the wheel flange contacting the rail can be appreciable, especially in situations where a locomotive may pull one hundred cars. For instance, it has been estimated that a savings of 5-20% of the locomotive fuel requirements could be attained if one could eliminate or substantially reduce the frictional contact between the wheel flange and the rail. In the case of a large railroad, a 5% savings in fuel can amount to about $150,000 per month.
Accordingly, it is highly desired to minimize the effects of frictional engagement between the wheel flange and the rail. This can be achieved by proper lubrication using a lubricating system which will serve to apply lubricant at the right location to obtain the desired results of decreased fuel consumption and decreased wear, but without applying lubricant to undesired locations which may lead to unsafe conditions or to increased maintenance requirements. That is, lubrication should be applied to the radius area between the wheel flange and the wheel tread, with some lubricant application extending onto the flange. However, no lubricant should be applied to the wheel tread which is in driving and braking contact with the rail crown. Several attempts have been made to apply the proper amount of lubricant at the desired location, none of which are satisfactory in providing reliable and predictable lubricating results in a locomotive environment.
In one known system, air is mixed with a lubricant and sprayed onto the wheel flange with a spray which resembles the output from a conventional aerosol can. Spraying of lubricant at high locomotive speeds and/or with high wind velocities, results in the lubricant spray being dissipated before reaching the desired location or being sprayed onto other undesired areas of the train. In another available system, a rubber tire is mounted for rotation by the locomotive wheel. The tire contains slits with openings through which oil is released as the rubber tire rotates.
Among the disadvantages of such prior art devices are the inability to vary the rate of application of lubricant, and the undesirability of a rapidly dissipating lubricating spray or oil drip lubricant as compared to a heavyduty lubricant. Thus, it is desired to provide an accurate and reliable lubricating apparatus for locomotive wheel flanges and rails which permits a variety of lubrication applications for conditions of distance, speed, time, curved track sections, temperature, lubricant viscosity, etc.